


Oh Ocean, Won't You Sing Me a Happy Song?

by Stavia



Category: Men's Hockey RPF, Real Person Fiction
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst, Developing Relationship, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, First Meetings, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Happy Ending, Interspecies Romance, Lordy i'm going to hell for this, Merman!AU, NSFW, Other, Pittsburgh Penguins, Smut, Xeno, mermaid!au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:20:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23236858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stavia/pseuds/Stavia
Summary: You first heard it, one cloudy, summer afternoon, in the direction of the ocean.It wasn't alluring, or magically magnetic... quite the opposite really. But still, you followed it, curious as to where it may lead. All you found was nothing but the smell of sea salt and the crashing of waves against the rocks. Still, you continued to hear it, and always you followed to find the source.Finally, you found it - him. The reason you stayed up at night, wondering who or what was making that song, that tune. You found him.And he was beautiful.(TLDR: You, the reader, meets Merman!Sidney. This is the start of a beautiful relationship, and I, the author, am going to hell aren't I?)(By the way, I was HEAVILY considering adding in a polyamory Geno x Reader x Sidney into the mix, maybe in future chapters?)
Relationships: Sidney Crosby/Reader, Sidney Crosby/You
Kudos: 3





	1. Prologue

You were ten years old when you first heard it. A song.

Or, at least, it was someone trying to sing. Needless to say, they definitely needed more practice. But that didn't matter, as your curiosity told you to follow the voice and find whoever was trying to sing. You headed out of your backyard, towards the beach that was thankfully, close by - your backyard was basically the beach actually. 

The skies were painted gray from rain-clouds, not heavy enough to rain, but it was enough to blot the blue out. Zipping up your windbreaker to keep the slight chill away, you walked along the edge of the shoreline, waves softly lapping at the edges of your shoes. Throwing your head backwards to see if anyone was here, only to find none, you started to make a couple of odd marching steps in your pace, kicking your legs higher than necessary; something to make this walking a little less boring than it already was. You weren't surprised to see this shore almost completely barren of life, except you and the odd seagull here and there, there were a lot of beaches and rocky coasts in Nova Scotia littered here and there. At least it made your little adventure of finding the horrible singing culprit a little easier, with so few distractions.

But maybe you shouldn't have made so much noise, as you froze mid-step as the childish singing suddenly stopped and the hurried sound of a splash. Taking off into a run, your beach run turned into a rocky trek as you jumped and stepped carefully onto the rocks. Looking around after reaching the highest point, you searched for a culprit. 

To your disappointment, you found no one. No tracks either, except... you did find an odd shaped wet print on one of the flatter rocky surfaces. Hopping towards it to peer closer, you languidly traced your finger along the wet mark, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. If you could make it out, it looked like a tail if you tried hard enough. And guessing from the rock's position and height to be too far for the waves to wash, it was definitely something that was there a second ago. With a thought of excitement, you wondered if it was a seal or some aquatic animal that you could possibly see for yourself, in person. 

Still, you pondered curiously at the singing, still unable to put the pieces together. Who was singing, and horribly, in that case? A crazy thought crossed your mind, but you quickly dismissed it; Mermaids weren't real. And if they were real, they surely wouldn't have sang in such a flat, extremely-in-need-of-a-tuning-and-maybe-a -cough-drop-voice. Mermaids were supposed to sing really well! That's just ridiculous, mermaids existing? You'd be laughed at in school for that. With a sigh of a letdown and hands in your pockets, you stood up and turned to make your way back home, giving the fish-mark one last look. Your mind was buzzing with thoughts of your findings as you walked. Whatever happened today would stay with you for a long time, and whatever you found today, you're determined to get to the bottom of. You'll be back, you promised yourself.

Unknowingly, as you walked away, from the cold waters, a figure watched you leave. Only until you were nearly out of sight did the figure dive away, tail rising and falling with the tide as he was completely swallowed by the dark, inky blue.

...

Needless to say, you started to visit the little beach a lot more often - and a little quieter than the first time. Though you didn't find anything else for the next few weeks, you didn't give up - you couldn't give up - because that day kept on replaying in your head, begging for another roll of film; another picture, anything. 

You were gonna find this fishy fiend and the sour-noted singer, both of them, and that was a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! And YES I KNOW, I'M GOING TO HELL IN LATER CHAPTERS.
> 
> But lemme know what you'd like to see next hopefully, and don't be afraid to give me some criticisms or alert me of any mistakes!
> 
> (Lordy I'm gonna be writing smut soon, I can feel it. I swore I was never gonna but here we are. I'm suffering)


	2. Middle School, Everyone's Least Favorite School Phase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the good ol' school days, and nothing seems out of place per usual... except this one kid. This one, love-to-hate and hate-to-love kid (well, according to some very vocal parents), who's known around town for his hockey skills. You aren't sure why he's such a target for being tackled and taunted so much, as he seems to be quite kind and a little bit grown-up. A chance encounter between you two leaves you wondering if you were in a fever dream, and him trying not to panic at the thought of being caught of having a secret that his family's been hiding for generations...

You stared at the classroom clock impatiently, boredom searing your mind and your focus to a crisp. Clearly any sort of schoolwork you're supposed to work on is not about to receive any progress. Sighing for the upteenth time, you decided that you may as well pack up and get ready to go home before the bell rang. With only so much time left until dismissal, everyone in your class were thinking the same thing.

As soon as the signal for the end of the school day rang throughout the halls, there was a scraping of chairs and a rush of students filtering out of the classroom, eager to get out and about - more so than usual, considering that it was a Friday. You however, took your time, carefully zipping up your pencil case, putting any loose papers back in your binder before finally securing all of your classwork contents into your backpack. Hey, it was a bit of a trick of yours; taking your time and not getting caught in the stampede. The less people around, the better... well, most of the time, school-trips were always fun. Giving yourself a self-contented sigh, you casually left the classroom at your own unique pace, grabbing some and putting away some things once you reached your locker. Feeling the urge to do something about the song that's been playing in your head, you quietly hummed the tune to yourself, shoulders shimmying every now and then as you subconsciously tried to replicate the dance moves. It was a good thing that no one was around, otherwise you'd clearly be laughed at. You weren't a red target for the bullies, nor were you one of the cool kids; you were just you. A tween trying to handle the first throttles of puberty and the sudden girl-boy drama. Still, at times you were shoved or teased by some ill-intentioned classmates, and sometimes the class gave you a loud round of applause on your project presentation; you were still very wary of the bullies, but still relished the short-lived moments of attention. It was harder, trying to feel enthusiastic about school, but you managed.

As you climbed down the steps to reach the back-exit, the echoes of coughing reached your ears. Peering over the railing to see who was hacking up a lung, your eyebrows raised considerably as you found yourself looking at a boy - a little bit older than you - sitting behind the doors that let to the outside, bent over as he continued coughing. Speeding up your pace as you reached the bottom in a hurry, you carefully approached, wondering if you should find one of the school staff to handle this. As you got closer, you suddenly recognized who he was - everyone knew him in some way.

Sidney Crosby, the hockey prodigy and every opposing team's worst nightmare. Local news outlets constantly raved about how he would be the youngest player on every team he was on, and how he dominated the leagues, scoring goal after goal and always being ahead of his peers. Everyone wanted to talk to him; boys wanted to befriend him, challenge his skills and the girls would gush over his talents and his cute looks. You however, didn't want to be a part of such trivial things. To you, he was just another schoolmate. There was no need to get so worked up by him and his talents, was it cool that he was amazing at the sport? Yeah, it was, but it didn't change the fact that he was human. You heard from a couple of loud conversations from your schoolmates every now and then, that there were parents going bonkers over him too, and most of the time it wasn't in a positive way, as they threw insult after insult his way. Even worse, the older boys on the opposite sides would target him for body checks, mockery, and some even had the nerve to throw punches at him! As you heard these stories, you could only shake your head in disapproval and sympathy. It wasn't fair, and it certainly wasn't his fault that he could play the game so naturally. Still, you kept to yourself, your business only and your business alone. 

Yet here you are, standing in front of his hunched over form.

"Are... you okay?" You asked, brows furrowed in concern.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, I just-" The boy wheezed a little. "Can I- Do you have water?"

"Oh!" You wanted to smack your face. "Yeah, hang on-" You turned and grabbed your water bottle from your backpack's side netting. Screwing the lid off, you offered it to him. "Here." Sidney quickly took it out of your hand as he raised his head to down the offering rather quickly. Now you managed to get a good look at his face; Brown-black curls were sticking to his forehead from sweat, his eyes were shut, soft eyelashes hovering just above his cheeks. Soft, plump lips were wrapped around your water bottle's open neck, his adam's apple bobbing in his neck as he drank thirstily.

Your eyes widened as you snapped out of your daze, the realization of your train-of-thought hit you fast. Trying to hide the sudden heat that rose in your cheeks, you awkwardly looked away, silently cursing your hormones. It's the hormones talking, definitely; you clearly wouldn't be describing this kid - or anyone in that matter - if it weren't for these gosh-darn hormones. The world was better off without them, these horrible decision-making, stupidly pointless-

"Thanks, I kinda drank most of it... sorry." 

Yep, it's the hormones.

Turning around to accept the (clearly) empty water bottle from him, you locked eyes for the first time. The boy's gentle smile -slightly apologetic - vanished as he looked at you in surprise, recognition and... was that a look of fear? You returned his wide-eyed look with a puzzled one. 

After a few seconds of silence - though it seemed like a couple of very awkward minutes - Sid quickly got up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Uh... yeah, thanks again." He turned and shouldered the heavy exit doors open as you stood there, blinking in confusion. Though, it seems your subconscious mind didn't want to see you hanging. 

"Wait!" You suddenly called, causing him to freeze in his tracks. You didn't know what source of black-magic that cursed you to say that, but you wanted to crawl into a hole and scream your embarrassment and woes away in that very moment. Feeling your composure crumble faster than a sandcastle getting soaked by a wave, you said the most logical thing that came to your mind. "I-I'm Y/N!" Your breath hitched as he nervously turned around, giving you a 'scared-but-I'm-trying-not-to-show-it' half smile.  
"Sidney...Sid. I'm Sid." You nodded, trying to return the smile, though you were sure that you're failing to do so. 

Silence again, and then-

"Anywaybye." Sidney whipped around and walked outside in a hurry, not daring to look behind him. You stared after his retreating form, trying to process what in the name of god just happened. You clutched your water bottle with an iron grip, still blinking in disbelief even as the double doors closed. You didn't know if you were bewildered, embarrassed, or both; but thoughts began swirling in your head like a storm:

_'Did I just talk to a boy...and survive?! Was I really that unlikable? Well, now I know, I guess... Were those two water bottles hanging on the sides of his backpack?'_

...Hang on. 

Two water bottles... two _empty_ water bottles... and he was _still_ thirsty?! Was gym class that strenuous to the point where he needs to hydrate _that_ much?

You stared down at your own, even more dumbfounded than you already were. Shaking your head, you shoved your bottle back into the netting before exiting the building. 

You needed to go home, lie down, and take in today's events.

* * *

"Okay, just calm down-"

"I'm so sorry, I never should've-"

"Sidney. Enough."

Sidney squeezed his eyes shut at his mother's steely tone. Not wanting to disobey, he kept his mouth shut. Breathing a sigh of relief, Trina uncrossed her arms. "Thank you. Now, let's start at the very beginning, okay? Start from there."

He nodded, repeating today's events in a much calmer manner. "Okay... It was about a month ago, I just... I needed to get into the water. I just felt that much better when I shifted, only for like, five minutes!" He paused as his mother nodded, motioning for him to continue. "Remember how you told me of singing thing that apparently we're supposed to be good at? Well..."

Trina nodded again with a hum, watching her son recount his attempt to try and improve his musical talents in his sea-dwelling form. She made a reminder to herself that, when the time arrived, she should give Taylor a complete course of what was actually true and what was overly exaggerated or just plain nonsense - full explanation of the singing part included. She at least was more than relieved that her son didn't go out and try anything stupid - like approach one of those giant fishing vessels and test his still-developing vocal cords at the hull. (As if it would magically bend it's metal walls to his command)

For the record, she debunked the most illegal theories of what the Merfolk would do once revealing it to an incredibly freaked out 8 year old Sid - the first time his shifting ever made an appearance. No, Merfolk do not drag sailors - or anyone for that matter - into the water and drown them. Yes, a Merfolk's typical diet consists of raw seafood; there's a reason why they've managed to survive for generations without the use of a stove or an oven. That apparent mermaid sighting off the coast of Israel doing some aerial tricks? Yeah, apparently word got around from the Merfolk scattered across the world that apparently she was extremely high from eating so many lionfish (whole, venomous fins included) because she wanted to try and lower the population, fast.

"-And then I heard someone walking along the shore, and I dove back down in a hurry but I forgot to cover my tracks - I'm really sorry - and now she's been coming back to that same spot over and over again ever since." Sidney somehow managed to say that within one breath, he took a moment to collect his oxygen before finishing the rest of his tale: "And after school today my shifting started to act up again... and yeah, Y/N gave me her water and... yeah, that's pretty much it."

"Mm hmm..." His mom frowned a bit, trying to assess the severity of the situation. Sidney looked on nervously, anticipating a tongue lashing for being so careless. To his surprise, Trina didn't look half as stressed as he thought she would be. "I'm guessing you freaked out when you recognized them?" She asked, one eyebrow raised. Sidney nodded sheepishly.

"And they're younger than you?"

"I..think so."

"AND you're sure that they're gonna start spreading rumors?"

Sidney hesitated on that one. "I dunno, I haven't seen them around that often. They're not in my class or anything... But they're pretty nice." Thinking back on his first proper meeting with Y/N, they didn't seem malicious or looking at him as if he were a weirdo. They didn't tease him or ask him why; they just gave him water as soon as he practically looked like he was about to dry out like a beached whale. He recognized her face every now and then during lunchtimes or classroom transitions before it all started, but that was it.

Trina sighed. "Listen, I won't give you another lecture on the importance of keeping it on the down low, but I can't fix this problem either; you have to decide what to do. All I can give you is some backup if things go out of control."

"But-"

"No buts, I know you're in middle school, and I know I said that middle school would probably be your toughest year to handle two body-changing phases at once, but you gotta do the damage control this time hon."

Now it was Sidney's turn to sigh in frustration. "Alright, fine, I'll do it myself." It wasn't the fact that she was right, it more of the fact that he had to do the embarrassing, awkward task of talking to the opposite sex, in the pubescent phase of teen drama, no less.

"Don't overthink it, sweetie," Trina patted his cheek. "Who knows, maybe something nice will come out of this." He gave his mom a questioning look, which she simply returned with a knowing smile before exiting his room. Sidney blinked after her before rolling his eyes.

Ugh. Moms and their know-it-all attitudes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 (that's actually chapter 2 but y'know... what can you do about it) is complete! Again, lemme know of any mistakes! Constructive feedback is always welcome and kudos are always appreciated! OH, and the title is based off of a song sung by Unlike Pluto: Oh Raven (Won't you sing me a happy song?) It's a great listen and I highly recommend it!
> 
> OH. By the way, the mermaid sighting off the coast of Israel actually happened in 2009, but I HAD to include it this chapter cause I suddenly had an idea of an explanation as to why it happened (Over consumption of lionfish venom. It was too funny to pass up. Lionfish are venomous AND an invasive species, don't try to curb their population by eating them unless you thoroughly cooked them into a ceviche or sliced them into sashimi folks.


End file.
